Foundation garment



A ril 5, 1938.

H. WIPPERMAN FOUNDATION GARMENT Filed June 26, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 w WW Ti 7N NE R Z w m% 0 w MM 4 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS H. WIPPERMAN FOUNDATION GARMENT Filed June 26, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 5, 1 93s.

. kiing Patented Apr. 5, 1938 PATENT OFFICE FOUNDATION GARMENT Hildegard Wipperman, Chicago, Ill., assignor to The H. W. Gossard 00., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application June 26, 1937, Serial No. 150,529

3Claims.

This invention relates to foundation garments for women and has for its principal object to provide a combination corset and brassiere which is supple and at the same time capable of con- 5 trolling the figure while permitting special freedom of movement at the front so that the connected brassiere and corset portions of the gar-'- ment will not pull down the bust of the wearer.

In accomplishing the foregoing object I construct the corset portion of my combination garment of various light-weight elastic sections, each of which is capable of stretching in one direction only, and I combine these sections in such a way that the various tensional forces result in is producing a common symmetry of action which I enables the garment to support and mold the figure while permitting it to bend in any direction without in any way impairingthe freedom of movement of the wearer.

Specifically, the corset portion of my garment comprises front and back sections which are composed of elastic fabric capable of stretching only in a vertical direction, and connected side sections composed of elastic fabric capable of stretching horizontally but preferably having no vertical elasticity. The horizontally stretchable side sections of the garment cooperate to fit the garment snugly upon the figure, and the horizontal tension which these side sections exert on the vertically stretchable front and back sections provides the proper control around the body while permitting perfect freedom of movement for any upright motion of the figure as, for example, when the wearer throws the upper portion of the figure back the front portion stretches to conform to the position of the body.

In addition to the foregoing advantages of supporting and molding the busts, flattening the diaphragm and confining the abdomen while per- .0 mitting freedom of movement in all directions, another important advantage of this garment is that it may be made either boned or unboned, and in either case the construction is simpler and more economical as well as being more at- -5 tractive and more comfortable to wear than other garments which have heretofore been proposed for the same purpose.

These and other important features and advantages of the invention will be described in 0 connection with the accompanying drawings, in

which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a combination corset and brassiere embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a rear view thereof;

5 Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the inner front fastening means such as buttonhole tapes i4 portion of the garment in open position with the side and rear sections broken away to illustrate the novel stiffening panel at the front;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section through the front of the garment on line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a detail section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 3;' and Figs. 6 and 7 are front and rear views of a modified combination garment embodying the invention. I

The combination garment shown in Figs. 1 to 5 comprises a brassiere l of soft inelastic material such as lace secured to the upper edges of the corset which is composed of a front section or panel 2, a back section 3, and side sections 4 and 5 which connect the front and rear sections of the garment as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Thecorset opens at one side' and is fastened about the body in any suitable manner as by means of a slide fastener 6 and by means of auxiliary hook and eye fasteners 'iwhich may be provided on the meeting edges of this corset if desired.

The front section 2 of the garment is made of light-weight elastic fabric which is adapted to stretch vertically but not circumferentially of the garment as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1, and the back section 3 is similarly constructed as indicated by the vertical arrows in Fig. 2. These two sections preferably have a relatively long easy stretch in a vertical direction. The front section 2, however, may have a. horizontally stretchable elastic gore 8 inthe lower central portion thereof, as is usual in foundation garments. The side sections 4 and 5 are made of elastic fabric which is adapted to stretch horizontally or circumferentially but not vertically of the garment, as indicated by the horizontal arrows in the drawings. I

In the garment shown in Figs. 1 to 5, flaps or end sections 9 and I 0 are sewn to the vertical side edges of the brassiere l and thence down the sides of the corset to about the waistline, these flaps being composed of elastic fabric similar to that employed in the body portion of the garment but capable of stretching only in a horizontal or transverse direction as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 3 of the drawings. Each of the flaps or end sections 9 and III has sewn to its outer ends a pair of elastic straps i2 and I3 provided with which are adapted to be fastened to a button I5 which is secured adjacent the upper central portion of rear section 3 between short stays it as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. Shoulder straps i1 and II are attached to the upper central apices vertical side edges of front panel-2 from the top shown in Fl of the brassire and to the outer ends of the flaps 9 and I of the brassiere as shown in'Fig. 3, these shoulder straps preferably though not necessarily being composed of elastic tape. If desired, the garment may be provided at th front with a stiffened lining comprising a panel I! of inelastic material which is stitched to the of said front panel down to the point adjacent the hip line. The top of this inelastic'lining l 9 is attached at the center to the lace points 20 adjacent the bust line, while the lower free edges of this lining are secured to one end of the front hose supporters 2|, the other ends of which are secured to the lower edge of the vertically stretchable front panel 2 as shown in Figs. 1 and'3 of the drawings. Additional hose supporters 22 of conventional type may besecured directly to the lower edges of the side and rear sections of the garment in the usual manner. The panel. l9 may be stiffened in any suitable manner as by means of the spaced vertical stays 23 illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings.

The respective-front and back sections 2 and 3 and side sections 4 and 5 of the "foregoing garment may be advantageously constructed with a difference in kick or contractive force. as well as length of stretch. The front and back sections 2 and 3, which stretch up and down, do not require as strong a kick as the side sections 4 and 5, the side sections in most cases requiring a relatively strong kick in order to mold the figure-and this isparticularly true in the case of larger figures. In the case of many garments it is advantageous to provide the front and back sections with a longer stretch than the side sections which stretch around thefigure. In addition, using fabrics having different contractive .forces and different lengths of stretch in this manner, makes it possible to vary the sizes of the different corset sections and the relationship .between the sizes of these sections. In other words, the side sections 4 and 5 of the garment need not be as narrow as gs. 1 and 2, but may be considerably broader and the front and back sections 2 and 3 made correspondingly narrower by proper selection of elastic fabrics as described above. In the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the side-sections or panels 4 and 5 are relatively narrow because the fabric employed for these panels in this particular garment has a fairly long stretch and fairly light kick and a broader side panel constructed of such fabric would not provide the proper figure control.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the tension exerted by the horizontally stretchable side sections 4 and 5 of the garment results infitting the garment smoothly upon the figure and exerts the necessary tension upon the horizontally rigid front panel 2 to flatten the diaphragm and abdomen. At the same time, the tension of the horizontally stretchable brassiere flaps 9 and I0 and of the diverging pairs of elastic straps i2 and I3 exerts a yielding pull along the front portion of the corset which is adapted to cover the diaphragm and abdomen as well as across the brassiere I and the upper portion of front section 2, thereby holding the brassiere snugly against the body of the wearer above and below the busts and further increasing the control and flattening effect upon the diaphragm and abdomen of the wearer. When the wearer throws the upper portion of the body back, the front section 2 stretches and readily conforms to the position of the body without exerting any vertical downward pull suchas would tend to pull down the bust of the wearer, while at the same time the vertical extensibility of the front and back sections 2 and 3 prevents the garment from riding up on the body when the wearer is seated or assumes any other position.

The special floating arrangement of the front panel l5, and its connection to the hose supporters 2|, permit this panel or lining to slide up when the body is thrown back, and when the body straightens again this lining is automatically pulled back into position without in any way shifting the position of the garment on the figure;

The modified garment shown in Figs.,6 and '7 comprises a brassiere 25 of soft inelastic material, and front and back elastic sections 26 and 21 connected by side elastic sections 28 and 22.

' The front'and back sections 25 and 2lare composed of light-weight elastic fabric capable of stretching vertically but not horizontally, whilethe side elastic sections 28 and 29 are composed of similar fabric 'capableof stretching horizontally or circumferentially but not in a 'vertical directionfthe" garment in this respect being being identical with that previously described.

Shoulder strapsfland Ii, which may be of elastic or inelastic tape. are, connectedto the upper central edges of the brassiere pockets and to the upper edge of the rear section 21 of the corset.- Horizontally stretchable elastic gores 32 and 33 are-provided infthe lower central portion of front section 26 and in the upper central portion of back section 21, respectively. In this garment, as in that described above in connection with Figs. 1 to 5, the various one-way stretch panels, the front and back panels stretching only g in a vertical direction and the side panels stretchand described and therefore the invention is to be limited only by the scope of the. appended claims when interpreted in view of the prior art. The invention claimed is: g 1. A foundation garment for women comprising a combination corset and brassiere, said corset having front and back sections composed of elastic fabric capable of stretching only in a vertical direction so as to prevent said corset from pulling the brassiere down when the body is bent backward or forward, side sections connecting,

the front and back sections of said corset and composed of elastic fabric capable of stretching only in a horizontal direction so as to tension said corset across the front and back of the body, a stiffening panel lining the interior of said front corset section and being connected thereto only at the vertical side edges and at a point adjacent the lower central edge of said brassiere,' and elastic garter straps connected to the lower edges of said stifl'ening panel and said front corset section to permit said stiffening panel to slide up and down with bending movements of the body.

2. A foundation garmentfor women comprising a combination corset and brassiere, said corset having front and back sections composed of elastic fabric capable of stretching only in a vertical direction so as to prevent said corset from pulling the brassiere down when the body is bent backward or forward, side sections connecting the front and back sections of said corset and corn posed of elastic fabric capable of stretching only in a horizontal direction so as to tension said,

corset across the front and back of the body, a stiffening panel lining the interior of said front corset section and being connected thereto only at the vertical side edges and at a point adjacent the lower central edge of said brassire, elastic garter straps connected to the lower edges of said stiffening panel and said front corset section to permit said stiffening panel to slide up and down with bending movements of the body, end flaps composed of horizontally stretchable elastic fabric secured to the outer ends of said brassiere and down the sides of the corset to about the waist line, and means for securing said flaps under tension to the back of said corset.

3. A foundation garment for women comprising a combination corset and brassire, said corset having front and back sections composed of elastic fabric having a relatively long easy stretch and being capable of stretching only in a vertical direction so as to prevent said corset from pulling the brassiere down when the body is bent backward or forward, side sections connecting said front and back sections and composed of elastic fabric having a relatively short stretch and quick contraction and being capable of stretching only in a horizontal direction so as to tension said corset across the front and back of the body," a stiffening panel lining the interior of said front corset section and being connected thereto only at the vertical side edges and at a point adjacent the lower central edge of said brassire, elastic garter straps connected to the lower edges of said stiffening panel and said front corset section to permit said stiffening panel to slide up and down with bending movements of the body, end flaps composed of horizontally stretchable elastic fabric secured to the outer ends of said brassire and down the sides of the corset to about the waist line, and means for securing said flaps under tension to the back of said corset.

HILDEGARD WIPPERMAN. 

